


la détermination de la vie

by jedormis (dottie_wan_kenobi)



Series: la folie de la vie verse [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Arkham Asylum, Family Feels, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 22:56:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17990069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dottie_wan_kenobi/pseuds/jedormis
Summary: Dick and Barbara deal with what they find inside Jason-2's Arkham Prison.She has to swallow the emotions that rise in her throat, has to close her eyes tight against the sight in front of them. Bruce,Batman, dead. Reaching out for the spot the police think Jason was last in before he... disappeared. “Don’t worry about that right now, ‘Wing.” Despite her years working as Batgirl, comforting words, ones she’s said a million times, stick in her throat.It’ll be okay, but it doesn’t feel like it.I’m sorry, but that’s not enough.Jason will be okay, but god only knows where he is, what happened to him, and if he’s actually okay or not.I’ll tell Tim so you don’t have to, but that’s the last thing she wants to do.You’ll make it through this, but she’s not sure he will.





	la détermination de la vie

**Author's Note:**

> Idk I got a prompt on tumblr -- "“Do you ever think we should just stop this?” w batfam pleASE" from an anon -- and this is what came to mind. I hope it's not trash lol
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: Bruce is dead in this. It happens off screen and his body is briefly described but it's not graphic at all.
> 
> You probably do need to read the first fic in this series before reading this one to understand what's happening.
> 
> Minor edits made 5/5/19

### Arkham Asylum-2, June 19th, 12:25 AM

“Do you ever think we should just stop this?”

It takes several tries for her to get her throat to work enough to stutter out, “W-what?”

Dick breathes in shakily, exhales like it hurts. His hair is sticking up in all directions through the fingers clenched in it, and though he’s wearing his domino, Babs can sense that his eyes are wide and filled with tears. She knows her own are.

“I—I mean, what the hell do we do now? Where do we go from here?” He sounds so lost. It hurts to hear.

The police swarming around them, if she has to guess, are listening as closely as they can without looking like they are. She decides to ignore them, and steps closer to Dick, crouching by his side and wrapping her arms around his shaking shoulders. The second she does, the hitch in his breath gets louder, more obvious.

“We go home and mourn,” she tells him quietly, tears welling in her eyes, voice cracking on the last word. “We keep Agent A company. We don’t stop patrolling.”

“He always said, if he d-died, I should—”

She has to swallow the emotions that rise in her throat, has to close her eyes tight against the sight in front of them. Bruce, _Batman_ , dead. Reaching out for the spot the police think Jason was last in before he... disappeared. “Don’t worry about that right now, ‘Wing.” Despite her years working as Batgirl, comforting words, ones she’s said a million times, stick in her throat.

 _It’ll be okay_ , but it doesn’t feel like it. _I’m sorry_ , but that’s not enough. _Jason will be okay_ , but god only knows where he is, what happened to him, and if he’s actually okay or not. _I’ll tell Tim so you don’t have to_ , but that’s the last thing she wants to do. _You’ll make it through this_ , but she’s not sure he will.

A sob rips out of him, and he presses his face against her neck, shaking so hard his body feels like an earthquake. She holds on though it, anchoring herself to him so she doesn’t fly apart, too. Helpless to her own tears, she tries to muffle them into his hair. Compared to the hushed talking of everyone around her and the permanent silence of two of Gotham’s infamous idols, the choked sounds she’s making seem so loud.

After a few moments, his arms come up and he pulls her fully against him, needing an anchor himself. Babs can’t even imagine how it must feel for him—his father dying, having Jason back for just long enough to say goodbye, and the weight of Gotham on his shoulders.

Fresh tears fall as she holds him tighter.

**[...]**

Hours later, in one of the living rooms, Alfred asks slowly, “Master Jason was there?”

“They think… they think what happened was that the Joker killed B—shot him with some kind of bullet he made, I don’t know, they weren’t done taking tests when we—anyway, he killed B, Jason killed the Joker—”

“ _How_?” Alfred demands, so anguished that it almost sounds like a wail. Babs has to clench her jaw to keep her emotions in.

“Crowbar through the chest. And then he sat there for days. Eventually,” Dick inhales raggedly, “he was found and we tried, Alfred, I promise we tried to get him out of there, but….”

“He said goodbye, and when we finally got in there, he was gone,” Babs finishes for him, resting a hand on his back. She’s not part of this family, not really. A close ally, yes. A friend, yes. But not a sister, not a daughter, not a lover. She’s here right now because Dick needs her, because _she_ needs _him_ , but that doesn’t stop her from feeling like she’s intruding terribly.

“But you didn’t bring home his body,” Tim says, blank. He’s been staring at the floor since they told him. Babs is just waiting for him to blow up, tears and anger and directed intelligence.

Dick stands on shaking legs and crosses the room, sitting next to him and laying an arm over his shoulders. Babs can’t look away as Tim leans into Dick, and he says into his younger brother’s hair, “Not gone like that, Timmy. He was just, poof, gone. No body to take home.”

“Then where did he go? Where could he have gone? I mean, he must’ve been hurt, so where….” Tim trails off.

“I don’t know.” Dick shakes his head. “I just don’t know.”

“We must look for him, Master Dick. We cannot leave this mystery unsolved.”

Dick clears his throat. When he speaks, anger and depression are obvious in his words, in the way way his voice shakes and cracks. “We won’t, Alfred. I’m not going to stop until I find him, dead or alive.”

Alfred nods seriously, and Babs joins him, wishing she could reach out and grab Dick’s hand. Tim, though… he sits up straight, a fire in his eyes, and determinedly says, “I’ll help you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think? Would you be interested in reading more scenes from the other worlds in this verse?
> 
> Find me [here](https://dottie-wan-kenobi.tumblr.com) on Tumblr
> 
> Thanks for reading!! <3


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